Last.



i DEER.

LAST.

APPLICATION FILED APR. H3. 1918.

Patented INVENTOR "ATYORNEY FRANK H. KOBEB, 0F MEBRICK, YORK.

LAST.

Specification otLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

Application filed April 16, 1918. Serial No. 228,864.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, FRANK H. Konnn, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Merrick, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to the shaper or former upon which the footportion of a boot or shoe is fashioned, and it has particular referenceto lasts'that are made of wood, which are liable to split, chip or breakthrough usage.

In the manufacture and repair of shoes, wooden lasts are usuallyemployed because of certain advantages, as lower cost and .thecomparative ease with which they can be produced in all of the forms,dimensions and quantities required to put out a complete stock offootgear for adults and children.

It is difficult, however, to provide a last made of wood that can beused continuously throughout the various stages of shoe manufacture andoverhauling, including the hoeling operation, and yet be capable of resisting the repeated blows and pressure to which it is ordinarilysubjected, at least for any considerable period of time.

Moreover, in certain stages in the process of manufacture, asordinarily'practised, the shoemaker places the last upon a shoe-jack,which has an upwardly extending retaining member or spindle at oneendand a cushion at the other end. The last is inverted, so that theleather temporarily incasing the toe thereof will rest upon the cushionof the j ack, while the retaining member or spindle on the latterengages a socket bored into the last to point intermediate the surfaceand the heel. The shoe-jack, with thelast thereon, holds the work inconvenient position for stitching or pegging, and receiving the liftsthat compose the heel as they are assembled, affixed and trimmed. Theleather is frequently beaten or compressed, incidentally to theperformance of these several operations, and the last covered therebyreceives all the. impact or pressure, while it rests or is swung uponthe spindle of the shoe-jack.

The more or less violent stresses thus imposed upon the last producefissures therein, which are soon followed by partial disintegration ifnot complete fracture, with the result that the last is either rendereduseless or becomes so impaired that it can no longer turn outsatisfactory work, and consequently it is cast aside. Myriads of woodenlasts ruined in this manner are discarded annually, entailing heavyloss.

Objects of the invention, therefore, are to provide a last which will bevery durable, thus obviating the said loss, and at the same timeeconomical and highly eflicient in construction and operation.

To protect the last as much as was considered feasible, the prior artprovided a metallic lining or thimble large enough to insure a tight fitwithin the socket thereof, and intended to absorb the thrust of the retaining member upon which the last was carried, as the work on thelastwas being beaten and compressed. This retaining member was in theform of a jack-pin, while the last carried the shoe through variousparts of the machinery for certain of the operations in the making: ofthe shoes, and consisted of a spindle, while the last was carried uponthe shoe-jack. This gave some measure of protection, but at best it wasa mere palliative' for the defect to be cured. Another do feet .of theart was that the varying sizes of lasts required spindles of differentlengths, and as the spindles were not always changed they often would beeither too short or too long, with consequent bad results to .the last,due particularly to the hard usage of the'last by the various machinesin the passage of the last therethrough in the various operations and tothe pounding thereon at the hands of the shoemaker.

In the improved last of this invention, the customary socket is resortedto, though it is bored somewhat deeper than usual, in order toaccommodate the longest spindles. The metal lining for the socket isalso practically all retained, but it is made in two parts, consistingrespectively of an internal thimble lodged in the bottom of the saidsocket. and of a tube spaced away from this thimble and terminating atthe orifice of the:

socket in what is known as the comb portion of the last. An impactabsorber is located partly inside the thimbleand partly in the spaceleft between it and the tube, the outer portion of the said absorberprojecting out wardly a sufficient distance to be reached by theshortest jack-pin or spindle ordinarily provided. The functionsseverally discharged by these novel elements will hereinafter beexplained.

A convenient embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawinghereto an nexcd, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, representing a lastprovided with the improved protector, in inverted position, ready toengage a jack-pin or the spindle of av shoe-jack;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the protector, detached from the last,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, showing the heel portion of the last, withthe protector therein engaged by the said spindle and Fig. 4: is a sideview of the last alone, the protector therein appearing partly insection and partly in elevation.

In carrying out the invention, and in the preferred embodiment thereof,a wooden last, as 11, is bored transversely to the surface of its heelportion to form a socket 12, which preferably is made to extend inwardlyfrom the said surface to a point approachin the sole or under part ofthe heel. The socket is of suilicient depth or length to pro vide forthe reception of the longest jaclepin or spindle, as the spindle 15 usedon the shoe-jack 16. The latter, as shown in Fig. 1, has a cushion 17,uponwhich thetoe of the last, with the leather thereon, is brougnt tobear, while the socket embraces the spindle.

A two-part lining is introduced in the socket 12, to which it is appliedwith a force fit, that it may closely adhere to the inner walls thereofand fully protect the Wood of the last against abrasion by contact with.the

' retaining member, as the spindle 15. Preferably and as shown, thislining is composed of a relatively short thimble 21. and a longer tube22, spaced endwise therefrom so as to leave vacant or uncovered acertain section of the socket, which affords a clearance for a purposepresently to be mentioned. Both the thimble and the tube may be made ofsteel, or other hard-tempered metal.

Vithin the thimble 21 is placed a helical spring 25, removably confinedtherein at the innermost extremity of the socket 12, as clearlyindicated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. This spring is in constant engagementwith, and adapted to be compressed by, a piston or plunger 26, formedwith a head 27, arranged to have a sliding reciprocatory movement in thevacant space above referred to as intervening and presenting a clearancebetween the thimble and the tube in the length of the socket. The piston26 has substantially the same transverse diameter as the spring 25, uponthe coils of which it rests squarely so as v to be normally repelledthereby, to the extcnt that its head 27 will be pressed outwardlyagainst the inner end of the tube 22.

Cu the side remote from the head 27, the

piston has a reduced portion 28 projecting any desired distance axiallyin the center of the spring and serving to maintain the spring in properalinement.

ton. The clearance provided in the socket for the piston-head, ofcourse, is made of su'l'licient extent to allow of a proper move ment.The compressed spring automatically operates to repel the piston, as thepounding on the work ceases or the pressure thereto applied is relieved.There is no jar, shock or rough motion directly affecting the last,inasmuch it is shielded exteriorly by the shoe leather manipulatedthereon, and protected interiorly by the spring and piston offering ayielding-resistance to the internal advance of the retaining member, asthe jack-pin or shoe-jack spindle. The life of the last is, therefore,very much prolonged. The combined spring and piston, it will be noted,constitute the impact-absorber hereinefore alluded to as positionedintermediately of the thimble and tube that form the two-part lining forin! pin or spindle socket.

In its broader aspects the invention is not limited to the precise modeof construction shown and described, nor to any particular constructionby which the same may be car ried into effect, as many changes may bemade in the details thereof Without departing from the main principlesof the invention or sacrificing its chief advantages.

I claim:

1. The combination with a shoe-last having a socket arranged to receivea retaining member, of a resilient impact-absorber located in saidsocket directly in the path of said retaining member.

2. The combination with a Wooden last having a socket therein and ametal lining in said socket adapted for the reception of a retainingmember, of a resilientimpact-absorber interposed between theend-of saidretaining member and said lining.

3. The combination with a last having a socket approaching the sole orunder portion of the heel so as to permit insertion therein of aretaining member of commensurate length, of an impact-absorberpositioned in the path of said retaining member, and a container forsaid impact-absorber located llzetpieen it and said under portion of the4. The combination with a last having a socket therein adapted toreceive a retaining member, of a helical spring extending ont- 'wardlyfrom the bottom of said socket in line with said retaining member so asto be compressed thereby.

The combination with a Wooden last having a metal-lined socket thereinadapted for reception of a retaining member, of a resilient memberarranged to take up the impact of the latter within the lining of saidsocket.

The combination with a last having a socket for insertion of a retainingmember therein, of a thimble in said socket,- and a resilient element insaid thimble positioned to offer a yielding resistance to the advance ofsaid. retaining member.

7. The combination with a last having a socket permitting insertion of aretaining member, of a resilient element lodged in the bottom part'ofsaid socket, and a tubular lining in the latter leading said retainingmember toward said element.

8, The combination with a last having a socket therein for the insertionof a retaining member, of a thimble in the bottom of said socket, aresilient element in saio thimble, and a tube extending from the latterto the oriiicc of the so ket in position to receive said retainingmember.

5). The combination with a last having. a.

socket therein for the insertion of a retain in; member, oi; a resilientelement located placed in the bottom partof said socket, A

container Ior said element, and a press member arranged to receive theini said retaining inen'iber and transmit it so the element Within saidcontainer,

11. The combination with a last inn socket providing for insertiontheiuin 1 retaining member, of a resilient element in. the bottom partof said socket, a thinibio holding said element means for compres ingthe latter, and a tube in the outer part of the socketleading saidretaining member to said compressing means.

12. The combination. with a last having; socket to receive a retainingmember, of resilient element located at the inner end of said socket, acontainer for said element, a tube leading from the orifice of thesocket toward said container, and a compressor for the element arrangedfor reciprocation in clearance between the container and the end of saidretaining member.

In testimony whereof I have aii'ixed my signature hereto.

FRANK H. KQBER

